Teen Talk

Last year three boys turned in virtually the same English essay. When they were called in by their teacher to explain themselves, the students shrugged, scratched their heads, and claimed their innocence.
The faculty assumed one of them had written the paper and that the other two had copied it from him and demanded the truth. Despite threats of failure or suspension, the teachers were puzzled when none of the three changed his story.
Had the boys all plagiarized the same website or purchased the same essay online? For a long time no one knew how this had happened – not even the students. But eventually the answer was revealed. All three boys had the same tutor.
When I heard this, it made perfect sense, but what was inexplicable was why none of the three thought to share this perhaps exculpatory information.
In response to why they didn’t, one boy put it simply; he was not going to blame it on the tutor and risk losing him. That would be far worse than being suspended!
In high school today, having a tutor is not a source of embarrassment. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re failing or even struggling. One classmate proudly exclaimed that having a tutor means your parents care and have the resources to get you help.
Three years ago, a survey of the student body at a prominent independent school on the Westside revealed that 52% of students said they had one tutor, 31% claimed to have two tutors, and 12% admitted to having three tutors.
In wealthy Westside households where parents work long hours and travel extensively for business and pleasure, hiring a tutor allays parents’ fears that their unavailability might hinder their children’s academic success.
With the pressure to get into an excellent college and to justify the expense of a costly private school education, the tutor makes parents feel more secure that their sizable investment will pay off.
I have friends who are top students and are tutored in every subject. Because money is no object, the parents sleep better at night knowing the tutors are overseeing their children’s homework, proof reading their papers, and helping them prepare for their exams. They feel assured that homework will be completed on time and that their children will be prepared for class and assessments.
Tutoring is seen as one of life’s necessities, along with a Blackberry and a vacation home. But what happens
when these kids go to college?
Will their mother still have them forward a paper to an old, trusted tutor for revisions before it is turned in for a grade?
Teachers today are well aware of the increase in tutoring in the last decade. Some express with regret that it has become harder to know when one of their students is failing to comprehend what’s being taught.
It has also become more difficult to distinguish what is a student’s work and what was done with the help of a tutor.
Some educators have had to devote class time to having their students write “in-class essays†in order to assure that the essays are written by the students themselves. This policy was instated after too many teachers noticed a glaring disparity between what a student wrote at home and what a student wrote in class.
I remember getting a term paper back last year. From the looks of delight and anguish on student’s faces, one could easily distinguish those who were relieved from those who were disappointed.
One classmate near me hardly looked at his paper. Expressionless, he just stuffed it crumpled into his backpack. When he caught my eye, he leaned over and whispered, “It’s reassuring to know that even tutors have bad days.â€